For Immediate Release: May 18, 2006
Contact:Matt Englehart/Jennifer Scoggins (202) 482-3809

U.S. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ADVOCATES FOR U.S. FIRM TO CREATE WORLD’S LARGEST COAL MINE METHANE GAS POWER PLANT

Beijing, China-Today at a signing ceremony in Beijing, Caterpillar, Inc., was awarded a contract by China to supply power generation equipment for the world’s largest power plant fueled by coal mine methane. The U.S.-based heavy equipment and engine manufacturer is a partner in the $58 million project. The U.S. Commerce Department has served as an informational resource to the company and has advocated on behalf of Caterpillar since 2005.

The power plant project is expected to improve mine safety by providing a new way to eliminate methane from mines. Historically, the methane has been vented into the atmosphere. The generators will capture previously vented methane gas and convert it into electricity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a projected 4.5 million tons over a 20-year period.

Commerce Assistant Secretary for Trade Promotion Israel Hernandez said the contract is an example of how there has never been a better time to trade for U.S. companies.

“Exporting companies are winning in today’s global economy and creating high-paying jobs here in the United States,” said Hernandez. “The Commerce Department has resources throughout the world to assist U.S. companies from a project’s inception to the close of the deal.”

This business relationship highlights the goals of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), chaired by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez . The TPCC is an interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of Commerce that was established to provide a unifying framework to coordinate the export promotion and export financing activities of the U.S. government and to develop a government-wide strategic plan for carrying out such programs.

The Commerce Department’s Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. government resources and authority in order to level the playing field on behalf of U.S. business interests as they compete against foreign firms for specific international contracts or other U.S. export opportunities. The center utilizes the department’s Foreign Commercial Service, which includes more than 1,700 trade specialists in more than 80 countries who work with U.S. companies to export and protect U.S. businesses abroad. For more information on the U.S. Commercial Service, please visit www.export.gov.

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